يا لَيلَةً طابَ لي بِها الأَرَقُ
حَتّى بَدا مِن صَباحِها الفَلَقُ
O night of joy in which my insomnia ceased
O night in which sleeplessness was sweet to me,
Until the dawn broke through its darkness
Until the breaking dawn appeared from its morning.
نُسقى سُلافاً مِن بِنتِ دَسكَرَةٍ
ما شابَها في دِنانِها الرَنَقُ
We were served a drink from the daughter of Daskara
We were served the choicest wine, daughter of the vineyard,
Whose elegance in her robes was unmatched
Untouched by any turbidity within its casks.
اِختارَها في القِطافِ سائِمُها
حُمراً وَسوداً كَأَنَّها الحَدَقُ
The herder chose her during harvest
Its vintner selected it carefully at the harvest,
Red and black, as if she were essence itself
Red grapes and black, resembling dark pupils of the eye.
حَتّى إِذا في الحِياضِ صَيَّرَها
خالَطَها الزَعفَرانُ وَالعَلَقُ
Until when in the basin he prepared her
Until, when he placed them into the pressing troughs,
Saffron and cloves mingled with her
Saffron hues mingled with the deep red of clotted blood.
حَصَّنَها في الحِياضِ فَاِحتَجَبَت
ما راعَها رَهبَةٌ وَلا فَرَقُ
He stored her safely in the basin where she matured
He fortified it within the vessels, so it remained veiled,
Fearing no corruption, rot, or decay
Disturbed by neither terror nor fright.
خَمسينَ عاماً حَتّى إِذا هَرِمَت
وَاِخضَرَّ مِن نَبتِ نَبتِها الوَرَقُ
Fifty years passed until she aged
For fifty years, until it grew ancient with age,
And the greenery of her youth turned to withered leaves
And green leaves sprouted from the offspring of its vine.
أَتَوا بِها في الحِبابِ يَخفُرُها
مَشيٌ هُوَينى ما إِن بِهِ نَزَقُ
They brought her in jugs, gently swaying
They brought it forth in jars, escorted by
In a gait so mesmerizing and sublime
A slow and gentle gait, bearing no trace of haste.
فَبادَروا لِاِفتِضاضِ عُذرَتِها
بِناقِدٍ في شَباتِهِ زَلَقُ
They hurried to take her virginity
They hastened then to break its virgin seal
With a critic whose youth was so fickle
With a sharp instrument, slick at its cutting edge.
فَسالَ مِنها مِثلَ الرُعافِ دَمٌ
يُشفى بِهِ مِن سَقامِهِ الصَعِقُ
From her poured a blood like fine spray
And from it flowed a blood-red stream like a hemorrhage,
Which would cure even the stroke-ridden invalid
By which the struck-down soul is cured of his ailment.
نازَعَها سادَةٌ غَطارِفَةٌ
كَأَنَّهُم مِن شَقيقَةٍ شُقِقوا
The lords competed for her, tearing her apart
Noble masters, magnificent in stature, passed it around,
As if they were torn pieces of the same rag
As though they were all hewn from a single cloth.
يُسقَونَ مِن قَهوَةٍ مُعَتَّقَةٍ
لَها دَبيبٌ في المُخِّ يَستَبِقُ
They drank coffee aged and refined
They are served a vintage, ancient wine,
With a murmuring in the brain that excites
That creeps into the brain with a racing sensation.
أَعطَوا بِها رَبَّها حُكومَتَهُ
بيضاً كَمِثلِ السُيوفِ تَبتَرِقُ
They gave her master his rightful due
They paid its master his full asking price,
As white as swords that glitter and glow
With silver coins flashing like the blades of swords.
جاءَ بِها كَالخَلوقِ في قَدَحٍ
تَزهُرُ في جَوفِهِ فَتَأتَلِقُ
He brought her like a creature in a goblet
He brought it forth in the cup, fragrant as perfume,
Blooming within it, luminous and bright
Blooming within the vessel, shimmering with light.
كَأَنَّ إِبريقَنا إِذا صُفِقَت
في الكَأسِ شَيخٌ مُزَمزِمٌ شَرِقُ
As if our flask, when beaten,
As if our pitcher, when the wine was poured,
Were an ancient sheikh, venerable and devout
Was an old man mumbling prayers, choking on his words.
كَأَنَّها وَالمِزاجُ يَقرَعُها
شِهابُ نارٍ في الجَوِّ يَحتَرِقُ
As if she and the whisk were struck
As though, when the water strikes its surface,
By a flaming meteor burning bright
It is a meteor of fire burning in the sky.
كَأَنَّما حَفَّ مِن قَراقِرِها
بِطَوقِها جِلدُ حَيَّةٍ يَقَقُ
As if circling her neck were the skin
As if the bubbles frothing at its rim
Of a serpent, hissing and writhing in coils
Were ringed by the glistening skin of a white snake.
في مَجلِسٍ لَيسَ فيهِ فاحِشَةٌ
إِلّا حَديثٌ وَمَنطِقٌ أَنِقُ
In a gathering with no vulgarity
In a gathering free from any obscenity,
Only pleasant words and eloquent speech
With naught but conversation and elegant speech.
